FRANCE: Turnover growth for La Vache Qui Rit cheese manufacturer despite weak European performance | Progresiv
French cheese group Bel, which owns La Vache Qui Rit, has managed a 7.5 % turnover growth in its first quarter, up to 714 million euro. That was thanks to the Middle East and Africa as its European region performance ranges from weak to abysmal. 
Advantageous exchange rate fluctuations have helped Kiri, Leerdammer, Boursin and Babybel's manufacturer to establish a 7.5 % turnover growth. Its organic turnover growth still reached 2.3 %, although those numbers were not achieved all across the board.
The Western Europe region is the most important region for the company, with a 267 million euro turnover (+ 2.2 %). The region represents about a third of Bel's total turnover. North and Eastern European performances were not as good for the French cheese specialist: turnover dropped 9.8 % to 126 million euro in these regions.
Bel did manage to post incredible turnover growth in the rest of the world: + 29.5 % in America and the Pacific region (worth 116 million euro already), + 22.7 % for the Near and Middle East (worth 125 million euro) and + 11.9 % for Africa (80 million euro). (www.retaildetail.eu)
